Process of treating starch, &amp;c.



H. C. NEUBERGER 6; F. P. BERGH.

PROCESS OF TREATING STARCH, &o.' APPLICATION FILED APR.28, 1911. RENEWED NOV. 19, 1912.

1,047,831 Patented Dec. 17,1912.

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- UNITED STATES PATENT oFEIoE.

HENRY o. NEUBERGER AND FREDERICK. PEN'IZ BERGH: or NEW YORK, N. Y., nssrem, one, BY MEsnE ASSIGNMENTS, 'ro GENERAL'REDUCTION COMB'ANY, A conronn- TION OF NEW YORK.

rnocnss or TREATING STARCH, 8m.

Specification of Letters Patent.

' Application filed April 28, 1911, Serial No. 623,951. Renewed November 19, 1912. Serial No. 732,293.

To all whom-'z't may concern: I

Be it known that we, HENRY O. NEUBER- -GER andFREDERIOK P. BERGH, citizens of the specification.

Our invention relates to aproce'ss of1drying and transforming starch or similar organic substances from a powdered form to a condition of gritty, dry, angular particles 7 capable of being readily conveyed and elevated without dispersion and consists of cer-' tain improvements upon the process and apparatus described in our co-pending ap-' plication, Serial Number 623,921,,fild April The process consists, generally stated, of introducing starch in a powdered form containing moisture preferably of the amount usually contained in green starch into contact with a body of live steam or other moisture-carrying heated gaseous body and-dropping the starch through said gaseous bodyinto a body, of heated dry air below .the steam or equivalent body. By this process the product is cooked in its own moisture so as to wholly or partly gelatinize the same and it is then immediately dried so as to reduce the gelatinized particles thrown downfrom the gelatinizing zone, thus fixing the particles in a hard, dry, gritty fo Following the drying of the particles, they are conveyed to a suitable disintegrator where they are broken to the desired degree of fineness and the starch is then ready for such commercial use as the ordinary green starch may be applied to and may be handled and elevated without-.difliculty. 1

In the accompanying drawing which shows a central, vertical, section view, an apparatus is illustrated capable of carrying this process into effect.

Referring to the drawing, 1 is a closed 'vessel constituting 'a gelatinizing and drying chamber and 2 is an opening through which the material in a powdered form is introduced. A spout or pipe 3 for the introduction of the material leads to this opening and apipe 4 also leads thereto for the purpose of admitting air under pressure, the

object of which is to oppose the pressure of the steam within the chamber and prevent the latter from blowing the powder backward through the entrance. 2 is at-the top of the chamber. -The starch to be treated is preferably in a green condition in which state it contains about 25% moisture'or if suchmoisture has been previously extracted, sufficient moisture is added to the powder to approximate such percentage. As the starch is introduced, it falls into contact with a body of moisture- Patented Dec. 17, 1 91 2.

The entrance carrying gaseous matter composed of the air admitted to the chamber and of live steam admitted through vertically extending perforated wall 5. The wall 5 projects from the wall of the vessel and forms in conjunction with such .wall a steam chamher 61 The steam is admitted to the lower part of this chamber through inlet 7 and rises through the chamber and passing through the perforations enters the chamber-where it comes in contact with the falling body of the powdered starch. The wall 5 constitutes bafiling means to distribute the I Below the steam inlet or inlets and in'the lower part of the essel there is provided in the wall of said vessel an opening 13 to which leads a pipe 14 communicating with a suitable source of heated air, whereby the body of such air is introduced into the lower art of said chamber immediately below the body of steam or other moisture-carrying heated gaseous body. As the powder strikes the body of steam it is subjected to a temperature of about 180 F. and the action of this heat in conjunction with the moisture carried by the starch and the moisture supplied by the steam gelatinizes wholly or partly the starch. Such gelatinization, however, is insufiicient to reduce the starch to a aste or jelly and the same is broken into ne agglomerated particles by the cursuitable power means.

rent of steam and falls into the body of drying air where such particles are separated and fixed in a hard, gritty, dry form. The starch in such form is received upon amendless conveying belt 15, extending horizontally across the chamber at or near the bottom thereof and continuously driven by any The starch is car ried by this conveyer' out of the chamber and against a scraping and guiding chute 16, which scrapes the starch from the conveyer and delivers itinto a hopper17 which leads to a suitable disintegrator 18 where the starch is ground to the desired mesh and from which it passes to a collecting receptacle 19. In its final form, the starch will be in a dry, hard, gritty state characterized by an angular formation and a vitreous surface.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is 1. The process of treating starch and similar organic substances, which consists in introducing the substance win a powdered state containing moisture into contact with a heated moisture-carrying gaseous body and dropping the starch through said body into a heated gaseous drying body immediately below the moisturecarrying gaseous body, substantially as described.

2. Theprocessof treating starch and similar organic substances, which consists in introducing the substance in a powdered form containing moisture in the upper part of a closed vessel and dropping the substance through a gaseous "moisture-carrying body into and through a dry heated gaseous body immediately below the moisture -carrying gaseous body, and continuously conveying said starch from said chamber, substantially as described.

3. The process of transferring starch from a powdered form to a dry, gritty state, which consists in introducing the starch in a powdered form containing moisture into contact with a moisture carrying heated gaseous body of a temperature sufficient to gelatinize said starch and dropping the gelatinized particles into and through a body of dry eated gaseous matter immediately below the moisture-carrying gaseous body, substantially as described.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York, and State of New York, this 24th day of April A. D. 1911.

-HENRY O. NEUBERGER. FREDERICK PENTZ BERGH. Witnesses:

W. M. RYsER, DAVID M. NEUBERGER. 

